Grocery Game
Grocery Game is a pricing game that uses grocery items and is played for a prize usually valued between $3,000 and $10,000 (although it has also been played for cars and, on two occasions, three rooms of furniture). Having debuted on Price's second episode from September 5, 1972 (aired out of order on September 8), Grocery Game is one of the original five pricing games. Gameplay The contestant is shown five grocery items. The goal of the game is to buy a total between $20 and $21 inclusive. To do this, the contestant chooses an item, and a quantity of that item to buy. The price is revealed, multiplied by the quantity purchased, and rung up on a cash register. If the total is less than $20, they may choose another item and quantity, which is added to their total. This continues until they have spent over $20 or used all five grocery items. The player loses by spending over $21 or by spending less than $20 after using all five items. If the contestant succeeds in spending between $20-$21, he/she wins the prize. History Grocery Game first premiered on September 5, 1972 (the second aired show) and was created by Goodson-Todman staffer Imie Lane Camelli. Its original winning range was $6.75 to $7.00. This was adjusted on January 26, 1989 due to inflation. In shows produced during the first week of tapings, the contestant was given $100 at the start of the game. If the player won the game or exhausted all five grocery items before reaching $6.75, he/she kept the $100. Grocery Game was the third pricing game to be won on the day it premiered, and it was won for the very first time on its aired premiere date, September 5, 1972. Originally, the game was revealed first and the grocery items were described before the prize was described (similar to Hi Lo prior to 2008). On November 26, 1974, it was changed to have the prize description read before the game was revealed. From September 5, 1972 until November 28, 2000, Janice Pennington was traditionally the Grocery Game's cashier. On November 23, 1998, she started to wear reading glasses after she made a typographical error on the previous playing. Since December 21, 2000, any one of the models appearing that day will run the cash register, but it's usually Rachel Reynolds; Drew Carey will often joke that they "found the model at a grocery store working as a checker". The first four times Grocery Game was played the contestant was awarded supplies of all five groceries regardless of the game's outcome. On April 5, 1991, the game mistakenly used the Shell Game sign. Additionally, the Grocery Game sign was absent on December 23, 1980, October 15, 1993 and June 12, 2003; the former was because of an abundance of Christmas decorations on the turntable. Today in the Carey era, the five products involved share a common theme. Each theme is formerly concocted by Scott Robinson of the show's staff. The first perfect win ever was during Dennis James' nighttime show; when a contestant hit $7.00 on the nose with a few purchases. The first perfect win under Barker's tenure was on December 25, 1979; when a contestant hit $7.00 on the nose with just one purchase. Dorothy Sye (then known as Dotty Sye), the first player and first winner of Grocery Game (and also won her Showcase), returned on November 3, 2008; she got up onstage and played Coming or Going where she lost, and also lost in the Showcase Showdown. Foreign versions The game has been adapted for many other countries' versions, with the only major difference being the price ranges: Pictures Grocery Game 1.jpg|Here's Grocery Game without its sign or the WIN!/OVER prop on the cash register from September 8, 1972 and featured on Disc 1 of the DVD set. Grocery Game 2.jpg|OUCH! Eight cents over! Grocery Game 2b.jpg|But here's better news; a win with 13 cents left to go. Grocery Game 3.jpg|Here's the later look of Grocery Game from the 80s Grocery Game 4.jpg|That's worse than the finishing total above. Grocery Game 5.jpg|Here's better news; a win with two cents left to go. Grocery Game 6.jpg|This is what Grocery Game looks like these days. Grocery Game 7.jpg|The contestant that won did it in one shot. Grocery Game 8.jpg|WOW! A win with three cents left to go! (the total to win was now $20-$21 at this point) Grocery Game 9.jpg|Without a doubt, one of the worst totals in the history of this game (at least in the $20-$21 era). YouTube Videos Grocery Game Premiere An early perfect playing of Grocery game (December 25, 1979) Rob Wilson's Only Time as a Grocery Game Cashier (October 16, 2012) Grocery Game for a truck (May 10, 2012) A Win from (April 16, 2014) Category:Pricing Games Category:Active Games Category:Grocery Product Games Category:Cash Award Games Category:1970s Pricing Games